EghtesadOnline: Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization and the German Society for International Cooperation (known by the German abbreviation GIZ) have signed a memorandum of understanding on a manager training program.

The program entails executives from Asia, Eastern Europe, North Africa and Latin America learning about German companies and how they work and build up business contacts in Germany before returning home with new ideas for their own companies.

For the German companies, the program often marks the start of long-term business relations, IRNA reported on Thursday.

To date, more than 13,000 executives from 19 countries have taken part in the manager training program initiated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, according to Financial Tribune.

"As many as 110 managers from Iranian small- and medium-sized enterprises have taken part in these training courses. Contracts worth close to €10 million have been signed with GIZ," Sadeq Najafi, managing director of Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization, said.

Every year, several thousand German companies participate in the program, which began in 1997 with Russia as the first partner country.

The aim is to facilitate mutual access to another country's market for the executives and companies taking part, thus benefiting both sides. Participants go on a four-week trip to Germany to improve their management skills, business conduct and negotiating techniques. By visiting German companies, they also learn about work processes and marketing strategies, while developing solutions for restructuring their own companies.